Common questions about Newsweek

Short answers, pulled from the story.

When was Newsweek founded and who were the initial investors?

Newsweek began its life on the 17th of February 1933, emerging from a unique alliance of Wall Street wealth and journalistic ambition. Thomas J. C. Martyn secured funding from a group of stockholders that included Ward Cheney of the Cheney silk family, John Hay Whitney, and Paul Mellon, the son of Andrew W. Mellon. This was the first time the Mellon family attempted to function journalistically on a national scale, investing approximately one million dollars to launch the magazine.

What major legal victory did Newsweek face in 1970 regarding female employees?

The year 1970 marked a turning point for Newsweek when Eleanor Holmes Norton represented sixty female employees who filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. They alleged that the magazine had a policy of allowing only men to be reporters, a claim that the women won with the support of the American Civil Liberties Union. This legal victory forced Newsweek to open its doors to women reporters, fundamentally altering its internal culture.

When did Newsweek cease its American print edition and who acquired the brand?

The end of 2012 marked the cessation of the American print edition of Newsweek after 80 years of publication, citing the increasing difficulty of maintaining a paper weekly magazine in the face of declining advertising and subscription revenues. The magazine was acquired by IBT Media, the owner of the International Business Times, on the 3rd of August 2013, for undisclosed terms. IBT Media rebranded itself as Newsweek Media Group and relaunched Newsweek in both print and digital form on the 7th of March 2014.

What controversies involving cover choices has Newsweek faced regarding gender and politics?

Newsweek has frequently found itself at the center of controversy over its cover choices, particularly regarding gender and politics. On the 23rd of November 2009, former Alaska governor and 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin was featured on the cover with the caption How do you solve a problem Like Sarah?, and an image of Palin posing in athletic attire. Palin herself and other commentators accused Newsweek of sexism, with Lisa Richardson of the Los Angeles Times writing It's sexist as hell.

Why has Newsweek been criticized for its lack of fact-checkers since 1996?

Unlike most large American magazines, Newsweek has not used fact-checkers since 1996, a decision that has led to numerous high-profile errors. In 1997, Newsweek was forced to recall several hundred thousand copies of a special issue called Your Child, which advised that infants as young as five months old could safely feed themselves zwieback toasts and chunks of raw carrot. In November 2022, during the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran, Newsweek incorrectly reported that Iran had ordered the execution of over 15,000 protesters, a claim widely shared on social media by actresses Trudie Styler, Sophie Turner, and Viola Davis.

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